Richard Roundtree, the actor who helped define cinematic cool with his iconic title role in Shaft and its sequels, has died aged 81 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Often described as ‘the first black action hero’, the actor was best known for portraying the detective in the Shaft franchise which premiered in 1971, but had a number of credits under his belt.
The New Yorker first starred as the detective John Shaft in 1971, directed by the photographer and composer–turned–filmmaker Gordon Parks and featuring a classic soundtrack recorded by Isaac Hayes.
In 2019, the screen star reprised his Shaft role with Samuel L. Jackson playing his son in the last movie in the series, this time directed by Tim Story, who was responsible for directing Ride Along, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.
But who were the famed actor’s wife and kids? The star had a colorful personal life which included two marriages, two divorces , a highly publicised relationship with actress Cathy Lee Crosby and five children.
Richard, who was often described as ‘the first Black action hero’, was best known for portraying the detective in the Shaft franchise which premiered in 1971, but had a number of credits under his belt
In 2019, the screen star reprised his Shaft role with Samuel L. Jackson playing his son in the last movie in the series, this time directed by Tim Story, responsible for directing Ride Along, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart
A life of glamour
Roundtree, who was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1942, was a star football player in high school before attending Southern Illinois University.
He dropped out in 1963 after planning to start a career as a model. He moved to New York City on the advice of Bill Cosby and began acting in stage productions later in the 1960s.
It was his first major film role as the title character in Shaft that changed his career forever and established him as an in-demand film and television star.
After his initial success, he played the title character in 1975’s Man Friday, opposite Lawrence Of Arabia star Peter O’Toole as Robinson Crusoe.
In 1981, he appeared with Lawrence Olivier and Ben Gazzara in the Korean War drama Inchon, and he again played a private eye working with Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood in 1984’s City Heat.
Other classic or popular films he appeared in included Earthquake (1974), Body Of Influence (1993), Maniac Cop (1988), Se7en (1995), George Of The Jungle (1997) and Brick (2005).
One of his later roles was in the 2019’s What Men Want, which received poor reviews but was a box office success.
Wife and kids
In November 1963, at the age of just 21, Richard married Mary Jane Grant. Their union lasted 10 years and they got divorced in 1973.
The pair shared two children, daughters Kelli and Nicole, who prefer to stay outside of the spotlight.
Following on from his turbulent marriage, he married Karen Michelle Ciernia in 1980 and the couple had three children together; Taylor, Morgan, and John James.
This romance also didn’t last and the couple divorced in 1998, rendering their marriage eight years longer than his first.
He is said to have at least one grandchild, according to The New York Times.
Richard also dated the glamorous blonde actress Cathy Lee Crosby whom he appeared alongside in an episode of television series Shaft, based on the movies of the same name.
The relationship didn’t last long – and predated his marriage to Karen.
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